


Conventional Rerun

by JustAndrea



Category: Wander Over Yonder
Genre: Gen, and a special cameo, lots of references, post-end of the galaxy, semi-sequel to 'The Cartoon'
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-08-31 06:00:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8566678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAndrea/pseuds/JustAndrea
Summary: Hater may have gone through plenty of changes in the past year or so, but there are still some things that can make him angry enough to want to destroy - like a certain cartoon, for example. The fact that it somehow got its own convention doesn’t exactly help either…





	

It had been exactly one year since he had seen it, and he still considered it the worst plan he ever had. He still considered it to be the worst _thing_ he had ever seen!

“…Um, Sir?” He heard Peepers say, daring to speak up, “Your hands? The lightning? It, ah, the convention center probably isn’t the best place for it, lest we start a panic.”

Hater growled, but reluctantly complied and forced his hands to power down - at least for the moment, since he had a feeling they wouldn’t stay off for long.

After all, he hadn’t even entered the building yet, but just the various signs and people walking around and the very idea was enough to make lightning flowing through his marrow buzz faster. He just didn’t understand it! Why did people like this thing (he refused to give it the respectful title of ‘cartoon’) and, more importantly-

“Peepers, why do I need to be here?!” He asked for probably the dozenth time that morning.

The commander sighed. “Because, Sir, while we’ve already got plenty of support and admiration from across the galaxy, it never hurts to make a public appearance or two just to encourage people to keep having good opinions on you and supporting our empire.”

“But this-!” “Hey!” They both turned to see yet another person wearing a plastic, stylized Lord Hater mask and blood-cloak print tee shirt. “Greatest in the galaxy!” The fanboy shouted at them before trying to do an imitation of 'Hater’s’ evil laugh (keyword being trying, but certainly not succeeding), complete with the infamous 'fists shaking’ pose.

Claws digging into the palm of his gloves, Hater shook with rage, being just barely able to keep himself from completely snapping as he turned back to his third-in-command. “This is anything BUT a good thing, Peepers!”

“I know you don’t like it Sir, but just remember that it’s just a silly tv show. In fact, not even that since there was only one episode!” Peepers told him, hoping that little fact would at least count for something, “And as soon as we’re done here, you can go back to forgetting that it ever existed, okay?”

“…Fine,” Hater said simply, crossing his arms. Peepers felt a pinch of relief and gave his lord a small, encouraging smile. With the situation now about as good as it was going to get, he then started to lead the two of them inside. As they walked under the doorway, Hater couldn’t help but glare at the words on the sign above it:

“ **WELCOME** **TO** **THIS** **YEAR’S** **BONEY** **CON!** **GREATEST** **CONVENTION** **IN** **THE** **GALAXY**!”

The main convention hall was already swarming with people despite it still being fairly early in the morning. Some had already donned commemorative Boney Con shirts and hats. Others were dressed in classic tees with the characters’ faces printed on them while others were dressed in full cosplay. Hater rolled his eyes at some of them, especially the Haters that were obviously wearing fake inflatable or plastic muscles to look as buff as his cartoon version had.

Going past a few of the smaller halls, one was busy enough that it caught Hater’s eye and actually made him stop. “What’s going on in there?” He mumbled, taking a couple steps towards the hall entrance to try and get a better look - and then instantly regretted it once he heard a familiar voice start to speak.

“Today shall be the final reckoning as I, Lord Hater, the Greatest in the Galaxy, finally become the Greatest in the Galaxy!”

The skeleton glared at the now-laughing crowd. “Ugh, why would anyone want to waste their time listening to dumb quotes from him? …And who is he anyway?!”

“Private Jon,” Peepers answered quickly - not nearly as angry as Hater, of course, but not as impressed or amazed as the crowd either. “He’s the voice of- erm, well…. You.” Seeing just a bit of electricity buzz along Hater’s fingers, he took a step back. “O-Of course, he’s nothing compared to the REAL Lord Hater! But to be fair, he and Jack from Human Resources have garnered quite the following.”

“Yeah well-! Wait. Jack?” Turning back to the crowd, he saw a few people leave with autographs in tow, leaving just enough room to see two Watchdogs sitting at a table. One was smiling at all his fans, his pen all ready for another round of signatures. The other was wearing a homemade Wander hat, grinning as he wrapped an arm around his own fan for their selfie.

…Honestly, given how buddy-buddy he could be with the Watchdogs even before he stopped being their number one enemy, Hater was a bit surprised that Wander hadn’t just done the voice of himself. Though, real Wander or not, it didn’t lessen his annoyance any. “Come on,” he mumbled, grabbing Peepers’ tiny arm and giving it a small yank forward before letting go and trudging forward himself.

Occasionally, his eyes would catch one of the signs for one of the other panels. Various things like fandom debates, fanfiction sharing, ship discussions (He picked up his speed slightly when he saw that one), discussions on the show’s animation, all sorts of dumb stuff like that.

One room actually featured the two Watchdogs that had written and animated the episode in it, answering questions and handing out free drawings of the characters (though these drawings conveniently 'disappeared’ when Hater poked his head inside the room). Other rooms just played the infamous episode over and over again, and some did that but just with commentary. Stupid, so stupid… But not quite as aggravating as Hater thought it would be, much to Peepers’ relief.

However, that all changed once they arrived in the merch hall…

“…You know, I’m half-wondering if we should sue them all for royalties,” the commander mused as he glanced around at all the homemade and bootleg merch, “It would at least give our treasury a small boost.”

Hater however couldn’t bring himself to care about how much the stuff was worth. All of it was garbage anyway! Plushies, figurines, tee shirts, posters with screenshots of the show on them, hoodies, masks, hats, posters with screenshots AND memes on them, buttons, keychains, fan art, even headbands with little lightning bolts attached to them!

The skeleton growled, fists starting to shake again. “Calm down, Sir, calm down,” he could hear Peepers tell him, “Remember, it’s just a-!”

“Hey! Nice cosplay!” a short, blue skin fangirl shouted at him, giving him a wave.

Hater’s face immediately went from angry to totally shocked. “E-Excuse me?! This isn’t-! I’m not even a-!” He sputtered out before simply yelling “I’M NOT COSPLAYING!”

“Well, you’re not cosplaying well,” another fan - a purple-skinned man with a poofy orange beard who was wearing a Boney Con tee as well as a wizard hat - chimed in, “Your cloak may be on point, but your lightning bolt horns look totally last-minute tacked on. …Also, your partner’s Commander Peepers cosplay is totally inaccurate. Come on, everyone knows canon character cosplays are more impressive than AU-canon ones.” With that, he walked away, not even noticing the skeletal lord’s silent fury.

“…Peepers, I am going to burn this place to the ground.”

“No you’re not, Sir,” Peepers replied as he got out his wallet. He quickly fished out what had to be at least a hundred credits and held it out to his boss. “Here. Go get yourself something to eat. That should help, right?”

Hater didn’t even give him an answer. He just snatched the money away from him and went stomping down the merch hall towards the overpriced snack stand in the back. Of course, with every step, he just got angrier and angrier…

“Whoaaa, is that-? Lord Hater! Hey, hey do your evil laugh!” “Where’d you get your cloak?! It looks exactly like the one in the show!” “Wow, man! You’re a shoe-in for Best Cosplay!” “Hey Hater! Where’s your staff of ultimate power?” “Ooh! Can I get a picture with you? Please please plea-!” “Do an evil laugh! Come on, do it!” “Hey look! I’m Lord Hater too! Rahhhh!”

By the time he finally reached the end of the hall, now totally-crumpled and crushed money still  in his hand, he was just about ready to explode! If he saw one more stupid fan or obnoxious cosplayer, he was gonna-!

“Hiya Hater!” Spinning around, he saw Wander and Sylvia standing right behind him, all decked out in con merch - with Wander wearing a Hater hood that had several buttons pinned to it, and Sylvia wearing a tee with her Banjo-Powered animated counterpart on it as she casually ate her snack stand nachos. …Of course. He wasn’t even surprised.

“We were just hopin’ that you’d show up here!” Wander grinned, “After all, isn’t the convention just amazing?! All the fans and costumes and panels, and they’re all celebrating your great cartoon-!”

“OKAY THAT’S IT!” Hater screamed, making Wander flinch a bit as he threw his money to the ground.

“Huh? Hater, what’s-?” Before the nomad could even finish his sentence, Hater pushed them both out of the way (nearly knocking Sylvia’s nachos out of her hands in the process) and hurriedly stomping back through the merch hall.

The Zbornak gave a bit of a scowl. “Hmph, looks like Good Guy Hater can still be a bit of a jerk,” she mumbled. Wander on the other hand could only give a sympathetic frown. “Well, you wanna go visit Jon and Jack now?” she asked him, “I’m sure the line’s died down at least a little.”

“Um, well-” Wander quickly gave her a small smile. “Why don’t you go on ahead and I’ll meet you there in a bit, kay?”

“…” Sylvia nodded, already knowing what he was going to do instead. “Alright buddy. See ya in a bit.”

“See ya!” He waved before running off down the same exact direction Hater took. Surprisingly, even in a crowd of skull masks and red hoods, Hater was still pretty easy to find - mostly because he was the only one not having a good time, instead deciding to stand by the nearest exit fuming and hiding his face rather than socialize with the other con guests and join in on the fun.

As soon as Wander found him, he didn’t hesitate to wrap his noodly arms around his waist and bring him into a tight hug. Even without any words or warning, Hater didn’t even flinch at it, having gotten used to these surprise hugs long ago. He didn’t return the hug, but he didn’t pull away either, so Wander considered that a good sign.

“…So,” the nomad asked as he finally ended the hug between them, “Everything okay?”

“Oh yeah, sure,” Hater snapped, a deep scowl still on his face, “Once Peepers gets here and we use every laser on the ship to destroy everything and everyone here, I’ll be just fine!” There was a slight pause after he said that, with Hater mentally wincing at his words. He knew it was a total bad-guy thing to do, and it would no doubt cause him to lose some admirers. …But that didn’t stop him from feeling like he wanted to do it.

Despite the harsh words and the horrible plan though, Wander’s calm expression never faltered. He just continued to stand by him, offering a small smile. “Ya know, Hater… I know their way of showin’ it isn’t really what you’re used to but, everyone here really admires you and is your fan and-!”

“No!” Hater yelled, not caring if he interrupted him, “They don’t admire me! They aren’t fans of me! They’re just fans of a dumb version of me that starts out awesome and then turns out to be totally lame and gets defeated!”

“Well, actually, there was a bit of an alternate ending where it was a trick and you weren’t defeated, so-”

“I DON’T CARE!” Hater then huffed, crossing his arms in frustration. “Everyone here, they just-! When they see me, they don’t see a strong conqueror or a powerful leader or a galaxy saver! No, all they see is a stupid cartoon character! Because of one dumb short that apparently no one’s ever going to forget-” No matter how many copies of it Hater tried to find and destroy- “I, I’m just a big joke to them!”

Wander gasped. “Hater, no! People here don’t think that at all! I mean-! …Okay yeah, I’m sure people do think the cartoon is pretty silly, but they don’t think of you as silly! They know you’re a real person who’s strong and powerful and successful. They just love the cartoon you just as much as the real you!”

“…Hmph,” Hater said simply, looking away. It certainly didn’t seem like they admired the real him as much as the cartoon him. In fact, he was pretty certain that most of the fans surrounding him didn’t even remember a real Lord Hater existed. That’s what it felt like anyway, and it was infuriating! …And frustrating. …And disappointing.

Frowning now, Wander sat down next to him and patted his arm. “…Well, even if these fans only like one version of ya - though I’m still sure that they don’t - there are still plenty of folks out there that do love the real you. Mister Peepers, Captain Tim, the Watchdogs, me and Syl… And all the people that you saved that day on that little planet. I’m sure their view of ya couldn’t be swayed by some cartoon.”

Hater’s eyes widened slightly, and while his scowl did soften a bit, he still tried to hide his face as he clenched his fists a bit. Stupid Wander, always making the inside of his chest feel warm and making his scowls go away… Whatever. Maybe Wander was right about a lot of things, but Hater just knew that he was wrong about this.

“…Um, excuse me?” a little voice said.

“Huh?” Looking forward again, Hater saw- …Thin air?

“Oh wow!” The voice giggled a bit, “I knew it was you!” Knowing where the voice was coming from now, Hater looked down and blinked at the little, green-skinned girl in front of him. She was wearing a pink dress and a Hater hood (of course), her tiny antennas sticking out of it, along with a small backpack with a bottle of Thunderblazz sticking out of it. He blinked again. …Why did she look so familiar?

“Well hi there!” Wander greeted, tipping his hat to the little girl, “Can we help ya with something?”

The girl shook her head. “Nah. I just really wanted to say hi to the real Lord Hater again!”

“Oh really~?” Out of the corner of his eye, Hater could see Wander giving him a big, knowing smile.

“Yeah! He’s the best!” she told Wander before turning all her attention back to the skeletal lord, “And your cartoon is my favorite cartoon ever!”

Hater’s horns immediately drooped as he just barely managed to hold back a groan. “Oh, really?” He asked in a flat tone, though it wasn’t really noticed by the little fan.

“Yeah! I wasn’t able to watch you save the galaxy from Lord Dominator cause Mom said we couldn’t stay in our house anymore. But, after you saved everyone and we were able to come back home, we ended up finding a video tape of your cartoon somewhere!” She giggled. “I always try to watch it every day! It’s just so funny!”

“Ugh. Yeah, I hear that a lot,” Hater mumbled as he started to move his gaze from the fan to the floor. So, now even little kids thought he was a big joke? Great. Just perfect.

“Yeah, it always make me smile and laugh a lot! Plus it reminds me of how cool and nice you are!”

“Uh huh, yea- Wait.” He glanced up at her again, giving a look of confusion, “Wait, w-what?”

“Hehe, come on, Mister Lord Hater!” The girl told him with a smile, “The whole cartoon is about you being strong and fighting bad guys, cause you’re the best! And even though you try to destroy people sometimes, you can be nice and friendly too, even if you don’t always show it. Just like how you saved the Galaxy! Or like when you stopped your Watchdogs from invading!”

“I, well, I-I mean-” Honestly, Hater didn’t really know how to reply to something like that. “It wasn’t really- It, it was supposed to-… Huh.” …Hey, wait. He didn’t remember that last bit from the show. When had that-?

“And you’re not really a bad guy, you’re just Lord Hater!” She added as she raised her tiny arms in the air, “The Greatest in the Galaxy!”

“…Heh, yeah,” he said, smiling slightly now, “Greatest in the Galaxy.” He then gave her a small, harmless poke on the head. “And don’t you forget it, got it?”

The fan laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t! Promise! So, when’s the next episode coming out?”

Hater’s smile immediately fell. “The next-? Hmph. Well, actually, there isn’t-”

“I really wanna see what happens next!” The girl excitedly exclaimed before he could finish, “And I wanna keep seeing you being cool and funny! Same with all the other characters! And maybe your character can save the day sometimes in the show just like you do?”

“…” With the young fangirl finally giving him a moment to reply, Hater opened his mouth- …but nothing came out. He certainly knew what he could say. What he should say. There weren’t going to be any new episodes because he still considered the cartoon stupid and a failure. However, in the end, all that came out was: “…Yeah, maybe.” Needless to say, the fan was pretty happy with that answer.

“Olive! Oh Olive! Over here, sweetie!” Looking up, all three of them saw a taller green woman with antennas, a purple dress, and a camera in her hands.

“Oh!” Olive turned back to Hater. “Mister Hater, can I please take a picture with you?”

“Uhh… S-Sure?” “Yaaaay!” Grinning widely and holding back a squee, Wander scooted out of the way, wanting to make sure it was just the two of them in the picture. Olive quickly moved so that she was right next to Hater, and - after a moment or two of hesitation - Hater put on a slightly awkward but still pretty genuine smile.

The camera flashed, and once the picture was taken and Hater had finished rubbing his eyes, he saw the girl smile up at him one last time. “Thanks, Mister Hater!”

“Yeah yeah, no problem,” he told her before she ran back over to her mother, a small smile still managing to stay on his face.

“…Sooooo,” Wander started to say as he scooted back over towards the former villain, “Guess not all fans are that bad, huh?”

“…I guess,” Hater admitted before crossing his arms again, “Hmph. I still say she likes a dumb cartoon though.” As harsh as these words were though, they didn’t have nearly as much of a bite to them as they usually would.

“Heh, yeah,” Wander said with a slight shrug, “Seems to me that a lot of folks here like a 'dumb’ cartoon. But dumb things don’t have to mean they’re also bad. Dumb things can even mean a lot to some people.”

“…” Hater glanced ahead, watching Olive and her mother disappear before looking at all the other fans in he crowd. The cosplayers, the people who kept saying quotes from the show, the enthusiastic ones who cheered and chanted “Greatest in the Galaxy” or passionately sang the theme song, the fans who happily talked about the show to each other as they waited in line for some panel- Honestly, it was sorta hard to believe that they were all there for that one cartoon. How much they liked it. …How much they apparently liked him.

The annoyance he felt at the sight of all the fans was still there, definitely still there. But the anger and fury that he had felt towards the con and the show earlier? He barely felt it. With a slight sigh, he finally replied. “Yeah, maybe. …Still pretty dumb though.”

()()()()()()()()()()

_“It’s over, Sir Bradley Starlight!”_

_“Not so fast, Lord Hater!” The smug knight replied as he held up Wander, who now had his arms tied to his side with thick rope, totally trapping him. “For I knew that you and your strong and loyal Watchdogs would defeat my sidekick knights easily! That’s why I simply used them as a distraction for you while I captured Wander!”_

_Honestly, the nomad didn’t look too concerned, but he at least he sounded sorta afraid. “Golly! I sure am in a doozy of a pickle here, a-hyuck! Hater, buddy! Ya’ll have got ta’ save me!”_

_“You fiend!” Lord Hater growled as he pointed at his enemy, “Of course while Wander is still not my friend, I can’t just let him be captured by you! Not because we’re friends of course, but because I can’t let you win! Not that you can win, for I am the Lord Hater, the Greatest in the Galaxy! So now watch as I, Lord Hater, save Wander - who is not my friend but who I also can’t let stay captured - from you!” With that, the skeletal lord let out a battle cry and charged forward._

“Gosh, I think this may be the best episode yet!” Wander whispered, clasping his hands.

“Mm,” Hater grunted, nodding slightly before stuffing more popcorn in his mouth.

“Certainly one of the most exciting! Almost as exciting as the time Lord Hater fought the evil sandwich over the Twin Silver Fork and Spoon of Destruction! Or the one where-”

“Shhh!” A Watchdog scolded from behind. “Come on, man! The ending’s are always the best part!” another Watchdog quietly exclaimed.

“Whoops! Sorry!” Wander sheepishly apologized before turning his attention back to the projection screen, just in time to see Lord Hater give one of his signature punches to Bradley Starlight, knocking him down. Hater on the other hand, as much as he liked seeing a cartoon version of Brad get beaten up, couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

He still thought of the cartoon as dumb. At the very least, it was overrated. …But, he supposed that it wasn’t really the absolute worst thing in the Galaxy. The show did make people happy, for whatever reason, and surprisingly (part of him still couldn’t believe it) he no longer considered that to be much of a bad thing either. The whole situation still annoyed him a bit, no doubt, but…

_The screen flashed as Lord Hater threw a giant lightning bolt. Within seconds, it was revealed that Sir Bradley had been knocked out cold, and the ropes around Wander had disappeared! Lord Hater had saved the day again!_

Everyone in the theater cheered, clapping and throwing bits of popcorn up like confetti in excitement, and a few of them even starting up a “Hate’s Great, Best Villain!” chant. And, even if part of him didn’t want to, Hater did manage a small smile from it all. Glancing up, he watched as his animated counterpart gave his trademark laugh and shake his fists. Not quite as cool or intimidating as Hater wanted him to be, but not quite a total joke either.

Maybe the show wasn’t perfect, but hey, if it made people like and admire him - or at least, one version of him that was only slightly embarrassing - then maybe it wasn’t half bad after all.


End file.
